Stuck
by Jack E. Peace
Summary: (Sequel to Why Can't I?) Clear thought that she would be happy now that she's finally found Tod. But, she still has feelings for Alex, who might have feelings for her as well. (completed)
1. Prince Charming

Disclaimer: None of the characters from the first film belong to me.   
  
A/N: Well, back by popular demand is the sequel to "Why Can't I?" yay! Sorry about that, I'm just so happy that I go so many reviews for the first one; over forty reviews, that's the most I've ever gotten for one of my stories. I just hope this one is as good as the first one, most sequels aren't but I'm going to try break out of that. Please read and review and enjoy!   
  
This story begins the Sunday after the Friday when the first one ended. This first chapter is silly or stupid or whatever but it's necessary for other chapters; plus, I'm trying to include stuff from the movie as well.   
  
Chapter One   
  
Prince Charming  
  
The day was warm, though the declining temperature signaled that the days were slowly growing cooler, as fall days slowly did. A light breeze drifted through the air, gently playing with the light brown leaves that had yet to fall from the trees. Clear Rivers tucked her hair behind her ears to keep the wind from teasing it, savoring the perfect weather; this time of year always reminded her of her father and it was feeling that she had grown to cherish.   
  
Clear strolled alone through the park, unable to stay home, knowing that the weather wouldn't last for long and it was too good to pass up. She was supposed to meet Tod Wagner in the park but he had called an hour ago to say that he'd have to meet her later then expected because he had to help his mother around the house and his father in the yard.   
  
But Clear hadn't minded walking alone until her boyfriend was due to meet her, it gave her time to think and appreciate the weather. She gazed up at the nearly cloudless sky and found it hard to believe that cold weather was on its way with cold gray skies and leafless trees.   
  
A noise ahead of her caused Clear to shift her attention away from the sky, frowning when she noticed a cardboard box, wilted with recent rain, pressed against a bench. She headed toward the box, decided that the noise she had heard had come from inside the box and peaked inside, heart melting when she saw its contents.   
  
Inside the box was a single German Shepard puppy, cowering against the bottom and whining, shaking with fear and hunger. Something inside Clear broke when she saw that little puppy, abandoned by some heartless human being; something in her could understand exactly how this puppy was feeling.   
  
Gently, Clear lifted the puppy from the box and held it so that she could get a closer look; the puppy's head hang low, as though it was afraid to meet her gaze, and it still whimpered slightly. Despite the dog's wet fur, Clear pressed it against her chest, stroking it gently, holding it tightly. "It's okay puppy, I'll take you home with me and you won't have to spend another night alone in this box." She assured it, not thinking of how her grandparents would react to the dog.   
  
She had always wanted a dog and she couldn't, after all, just leave the poor thing all on its own. Someone had to take care of it and that someone might as well be her. Still holding the whimpering puppy, Clear continued her walk through the park but her mind was no longer on the weather.   
  
* * *   
  
When Tod finally arrived at their designated meeting spot, he was surprised to see Clear absently meeting a German Shepard puppy that sat in her lap, her mind obviously else where. She didn't notice him until he spoke to her, startling her out of her reverie. "Clear, where did you get the dog?" It was the only thing Tod could think to ask, for he was curious about her answer. When he had spoken to her earlier, she hadn't mentioned anything about a puppy.   
  
Clear looked over at him, surprised but happy to see him; she moved over a little on the bench to make room for him, surprising the puppy who stirred. "I found him in a box; someone abandoned him Tod, can you believe that? Some people are so cruel." She explained, speaking everything that she wanted to say about her own parents but never spoke out loud.   
  
Tod looked at his girlfriend then down at the waterlogged puppy in her lap then back again, shaking his head slightly. "What are you going to do with it?" He already knew what her answer would be, but he felt the need to ask anyway.   
  
"Keep him, I guess." Clear answered, looking down at the dog, who appeared to be sleeping. "I can't just leave him again."   
  
Tod nodded, knowing that she had a point; he'd never been that fond of animals but he wasn't so cold hearted as to leave one a puppy all alone either. "Will you grandparents let you have a dog?" This was the same question that Clear had been asking herself over and over again and she hoped that the answer would be a positive one.  
  
"I hope so." Clear mumbled, scratching the puppy's crooked ears absently. "I've all ready picked out a name for him."   
  
Tod raised an eyebrow, looking at his girlfriend with a slightly amused smile upon his face. "Is that so? What name is that?" He questioned, interested in what she had decided to name her gangly puppy.   
  
"Prince." Clear answered without hesitation, looking up at her boyfriend and smiling slightly. She had thought about the name while she had been waiting for Tod to show up and decided that Prince was the best name for the tiny puppy, even though he didn't look much like a prince.   
  
Her boyfriend laughed slightly, shaking his head slightly; instead of saying about Clear's choice in names, he leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips, smiling at her when the short kiss was broken. Clear smiled as well, a little bit of color raising in her cheeks. The wind gently pushed a lock of her hair against her cheek and she absently brushed it aside, thinking of truly perfect the whole situation was. 


	2. Stuck

Okay, here's the first real chapter, though I hope everyone read the first...chapter. Well, you know what I mean, this is the chapter that sets the story in motion. Please review and I'll post more; also, I thought I'd put little parts of songs at the beginning of the chapters that fit with the chapter. Review and enjoy!  
  
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****   
  
I can't take it, what am I waiting for?   
  
My heart's still breaking, I miss you even more  
  
And I can't fake it, the way I could before.   
  
I hate you, but I love you, I can't stop thinking of you  
  
It's true, I'm stuck on you.  
  
****   
  
Chapter Two   
  
Stuck   
  
Clear sat in fourth period, knowing that she should be paying attention to her professor's but unable to do so. Her mind was in so many different places all at once that even she wasn't quite sure what she was thinking about. Part of her mind was focusing on the two boys that sat in front of her, both occupying different parts of her heart; Tod was staring straight ahead, acting as though he was comprehending was the teacher was saying. Her boyfriend, the boy that she was supposed to feel for and think about. And directly in front of her was Alex Browning, the first boy to capture her heart and break it, the boy she had no business loving.   
  
The other, more saner part of her mind was focused on the events the previous night, when she had pleading with her grandparents to let her keep the abandoned puppy that she had named Prince, hoping that they would see the puppy the way that she had. "How are you going to take care of it, Clear, puppy's are expensive you know and we can't afford one." Her grandmother had pointed out, doing all the talking as her grandfather read the sports page.   
  
"I know, I'll take care of him, I'll get a job." The words had been out of her mouth before she knew what she was saying. Clear didn't know where she would be able to get a job, seeing that she was only fourteen, but the words had sounded good and her grandmother had bought her promise, letting her keep the puppy as long as she promised to pay and care for it.   
  
That night, Clear had lain awake, thinking about her seemingly impossible promise, spoken only to save Prince. She had been planning on getting an odd job here and there, mowing yards or whatever, to begin to save up money for a car but now she had to get money in order to keep her new pet. And she needed money fast, since she didn't even have dog food for Prince.   
  
And now she sat in French class, thinking about how to get a job and earn money instead of thinking about how to conjugate French verbs. Mr. Murneau was in process of playing a poorly sung and written song about conjugating such French verbs, something that Clear was glad that she wasn't paying the greatest attention to. Everyone in the class was groaning, rolling their eyes and snickering and Mr. Murneau tried to look as though he thought the conjugating song was the most exciting thing he had heard in his entire time on earth. "Now sing along, classe." He instructed, doing just what his words had suggested.   
  
Carter Horton, jock and class asshole, groaned and grabbed his girlfriend Terry Chaney's makeup purse off her desk and throwing it at the CD player, hoping to put a stop to the horrid song. Terry turned to face her boyfriend with an upset glare on her face, though he didn't seem to notice. "Enough of that shit." He snapped, though whether his words were directed to the CD player or the teacher, it wasn't clear.   
  
Carter's throw was direct, hitting the top of the player and causing the CD to stop playing as the top of the stereo slowly opened. Mr. Murneau turned to face the jock, a stunned expression on his face. "Mr. Horton, one does not behave in such a manner in my classroom. If you would please accompany me down the hall to the principal's office, I would be ever so grateful." His deliberately spoken words were the farthest thing from a request as one could get.   
  
With a nonchalant smile, Carter stood and followed the teacher out of the classroom, Mr. Murneau commanding the class into silence before he shut the door behind him. Terry stood and indignantly retrieved her makeup bag from its spot in the front of the room, before returning to her seat to gossip with her friends and fellow cheerleaders, of which Alex's girlfriend, Adrienne Grant, was included.   
  
Amused by the whole ordeal, Tod turned around to face his girlfriend, a sheepish smile upon his face. "Can you believe Carter? He's got even less brains then I thought he did." He remarked, getting a slight smile out of Clear. She was far too concerned with her own finical problems to put her whole heart into caring about Carter's latest dumbass behavior.  
  
  
  
Tod wasn't put off by her mundane reaction and switched topics, having nothing more to say about Carter anyway. "So, did your grandparents let you keep the puppy?" He questioned, finally getting all of Clear's attention.   
  
"Yes but only under the promise that I pay for everything myself, which I have no way of doing since I don't have a job and am too young to work at any place that pays decently." She mumbled, pursing her lips and wrinkling her nose at the whole situation.   
  
Tod nodded sympathetically, clearly having nothing to say to help the ordeal and thus decided it was best to remain silent. Alex, however turned around upon hearing her words and it was best to add his two cents into the conversation. "You're looking for a job? The Green Igloo Cafe is hiring and I know they hire people under sixteen." He offered, seeing a flicker of hope cross the brunette's face.   
  
"That's great!" She exclaimed before catching a hold of herself and managing to contain her excitement. "But, how do you know?" She couldn't afford to get her hopes up, only to have them dashed because Alex had gotten false information.   
  
Alex shrugged lazily once, though it was a meaningless gesture. "It's my favorite place to eat, I was there this weekend and they were hiring and one of the waiters said that as long as you're a teenager you can work there." He answered, proving that his information was reliable after all.   
  
Clear couldn't help by smile, feeling her heart flutter as Alex smiled back at her. "Thanks Alex, you might have just saved my dog from ending up on the streets once again." She told him, still smiling.   
  
"Not a problem Clear Rivers." Alex said, a hint of humor in his voice as he said her full name, though Clear didn't really mind the joke coming from him.   
  
She felt her heartbeat return to normal as he turned around once again, everyone growing quiet and signaling the return of the professor, minus Carter, who was no doubt still at the principal's office. No matter how hard she tried to forget about Alex and the way he made her feel, Clear found that she couldn't keep her thoughts off of him, as unfair as that was to Tod. Even though she still hated Alex for completely snubbing her and going out with the Barbie in the flesh, she knew that she still had feelings for him. There was no denying that and she didn't even know why she would try to do such a thing.   
  
Love or hate, Clear realized that she was still stuck on Alex Browning.   
  
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Okay, so these are your chapters with training wheels, so to speak; the fluffy stuff before we actually get into the meat of the story. The song "Stuck" belongs to Stacy Oreico (I don't think I spelled her name right) and as for the incident involving Carter and the CD player, well, it's based off a true story. Let's just say that our crazy French teacher makes us listen to the stupidest songs to help us remember verb conjugations and one day one of the them was just too stupid...and there was a very unruly boy in my class.... Anyway, review and let me know what you think. Thanks! 


	3. Stroke of Luck

I've had a great turnout for reviews so far, it makes me very, very happy; a special thank-you to ScribbleDribble, who was my first review and to Dharke, who's reviews were funny...and sweet. And, of course, to everyone else to dropped in to tell me what they thought so far. Sorry for the wait but I've been sick and bogged down with homework (ever had to memorize "The Canterbury Tales"? It sucks) and I lost one of my text books...not that anyone cares but anyway. Here's another chapter, please review and enjoy.   
  
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We took our chance out on the street   
  
Then I missed my chance   
  
And chances are it won't be coming back to me   
  
Why can't I ignore it?  
  
Chapter Three   
  
Stroke of Luck  
  
After school, Clear decided to head directly to the Green Igloo, which she vaguely remembered seeing somewhere in the middle of town; she hadn't gotten much of a chance to memorize Mount Abraham's topography but she figured it wouldn't be too hard to find the place once she was in the area. It wasn't a long walk from the high school toward the area the locals referred to as "downtown", which wasn't far from the area that Clear assumed would have to be "uptown"; in a small town like Mt. Abraham, everything was close together.   
  
Just as Alex had said, the Green Igloo was indeed hiring, which was evident from the orange sign advertising such a thing plastered on the glass windows. Even from her spot on the sidewalk, Clear could see that the "cafe" wasn't exactly that at all, but more of a restaurant with two overly-plush red couches pressed off the right side of the abode. The couches were set around a round coffee table cluttered with magazines, the furniture situated in front of a fake fireplace. Everything else about the decorum and aura of the area screamed restaurant, with booths and tables taking up the rest of the area directly in Clear's vision, with a host podium set right by the entrance.   
  
"Here goes nothing." Clear muttered to herself as she slipped into the restaurant, mentally crossing her fingers. A cheery hostess, who also appeared to double as a waitress by the name-tag she wore and the notepad she had tucked in her waistband, grinned at her the second she entered.   
  
"Hello, welcome to the Green Igloo." She chirped helpfully, words obviously practiced and mandatory to such a job.   
  
Clear gave herself another moment to study the landscape of the restaurant before returning her gaze to the hostess, whose nametag read Bree Scott, who appeared to be waiting expectantly. "Hi, I'm actually here about the open job position." She explained, motioning to the sign on the window behind her.   
  
Bree Scott smiled, a genuine smile it appeared this time and looked almost relieved. "Thank God someone came about that; the manger has been running the two waitress he does have ragged since the other employees quit. I'm sure you'll get hired right away, you look promising." She explained, herding Clear away from the entrance and toward the back of the restaurant, where the kitchen and manager's office dwelled.   
  
"Thanks." Clear managed to mumble, surprised by her hasty welcome into the restaurant. It seemed to be opposite of the luck that she was used to that the restaurant wasn't just hiring but was actually short on help, which hopefully guaranteed her a spot on the staff and, thus, money she could use to take care of her new pet.   
  
Bree ushered the brunette past the hot and sweaty kitchen and through an already open door that led into a small office that was degrees cooler then the rest of the hallway; a short, balding man sat at a desk, surrounded by papers and garbage. Clear's escort didn't even miss a beat as she shut the door behind them, getting the man's attention and guaranteeing it for at least the next minute or two. "Mr. Stricken, I think I have an answer to our short staff problem." Bree promised, flashing a suave smile as she spoke.   
  
Mr. Stricken, whom Clear assumed was the manager of the Green Igloo, looked at his employee before casting his gaze over to Clear, who attempted to smile as charmingly as possible. "Hello, my name is Clear and I was interested in applying for a waitress position here." She explained, hoping that she sounded promising and trust-worthy.   
  
"Do you have any other experience in working at a restaurant?" Stricken questioned, giving his the brunette the once-over, as though he could figure out if she was waitress-material by such a examination.   
  
Clear shook her head but forced the smile to remain on her face. "No, sir, but I'm a quick learner." She promised, which wasn't entirely the complete truth because she still hadn't mastered the talent of saying "hello my name is," in French, though it was the second week. However, working as a waitress seemed to be much easier then learning the basics of such a cruel foreign language.   
  
"C'mon Mr. S, she looks like she'd be a very good employee and how can you say no when you only have two people working." Bree questioned, surprising the girl beside her with her helpful inputs but they seemed to work the manager just the right way.   
  
Stricken nodded once, shifting his weight slightly. "All right, fine, I'll hire you on a trial basis. Oh, and if you could start tomorrow, that would be great." His tone suggested that his latest words weren't a request at all, simply the first orders that Clear had received from her first boss.   
  
Clear beamed, unable to believe the luck she was having; good things almost never happened to her but here she was, hired without even a formal interview and resume. "Thank you sir, you won't be disappointed." She promised him, for those words seemed like the right thing to say at the moment.   
  
Stricken only grunted, a signal to let Clear and Bree know that their presence in his office was no longer required. Both girls exited the office without a single word and Bree shut the door behind her once again. Clear turned to the face the girl, a slight smile upon her face. "Thanks for all that, you helped get me hired." She said, hoping that her gratitude showed through her words.   
  
Bree smiled and made a dismissive hand motion. "Don't worry about it, you seem like a nice girl and we really need the extra help, there's only one other waitress aside from myself. Plus, she's not the easiest person to get along with, if you get my drift." She mumbled, winking and tucking a lock of her mahogany hair behind her ear.   
  
Clear smiled, bid goodbye to Bree and then slipped out of the restaurant.   
  
* * *   
  
Alex tapped his pencil against the kitchen table, staring down at his Algebra book, which seemed slightly more interesting then what his girlfriend, Adrienne Grant, was babbling on about. He was supposed to be listening with great deal to what the blonde was saying, but he didn't think she'd notice if he wasn't exactly the most attentive of audiences. He was attempting to pay attention to his extensive math homework and shut Adrienne out completely (remembering to nod at what seemed like the appropriate times) but he found himself only able to do the latter. Alex's thoughts continued to drift into places outside the realm of x=y and, surprisingly, he found himself thinking about Clear Rivers, who was the last person he had expected to think about during homework.   
  
Ever since he had seen Clear and Tod together at the movies, he had seemed unable to get her off of his mind, which surprised him. He had, after all, made it perfectly to Tod, himself and Clear that he had no interest in her but now he was thinking about her more then his own girlfriend. Alex decided that it was nothing more then the old saying, "you always want what you can't have" proving how true it really was.   
  
Alex looked up when he heard the back door open and his mother walk in and he decided that he had never been more relieved to see the women in his life, more then happy for the distraction, hoping that Adrienne would finally shut up for more then a second. "Hi Mom, how was your day?" He questioned, causing Adrienne to stop in her trivial anecdote to see just why she had been interrupted.  
  
"Hey honey." Barbara Browning greeting, smiling at Adrienne, who smiled back with her practiced cheerleader smile. "Alex, the Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, from next door, are going out of town and wanted to know if you could walk their dog? They're leaving tonight." She told her son, turning to face him.   
  
Alex nodded, knowing that he could use the money that he would get for walking his neighbors' Golden Retriever for a few days. "Sure, Mom, I'll go after dinner." He agreed, sighing and turning his attention back to Adrienne, who took that as a sign to continue her story.   
  
Alex went back to ignoring the blonde and, consequently, thinking about Clear.   
  
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"Desperately" belongs to Michelle Branch. I know the chapter title is kinda lame but I couldn't think of anything else and "Stroke of Luck" is my favorite song by the band Garbage. Anyway, please review. 


	4. Revolutions

After long last, here's another chapter; sorry it's taking so long to update everything but I've been bogged down with school work but in the coming week it's going to smooth out. A little note to Bree, I picked both of those names (first and last) for a reason and you guessed both reasons right; as for your vocal career, if you come out with a CD, I'll certainly buy it. Your songs always did remind me of Michelle Branch. So, everyone please read and review.   
  
Holding hands with you when we're out at night  
  
Got a girlfriend, you say it isn't right.   
  
And I've got someone waiting too.   
  
Chapter Four   
  
Revolutions   
  
Clear didn't mention her new job to her grandparents, figuring they wouldn't notice if she was late coming home from school every afternoon. In turn, they didn't press her about finding a way to make money to care for her new pet, as though they had forgotten all about the dog since last night. After Clear finished washing the dinner dishes and looking over her math homework for fifteen minutes before giving up, she decided to take Prince out for a walk. With nothing to use for a leash, she took the tie off her old robe and tied it loosely around the puppy's neck, pleased when the dog didn't try to free himself from her invention.   
  
Neither of her grandparents said anything as she left the house, which Clear decided was better then them prying into her business all of the time. It was true that she needed someone that she could and relate to, but she knew her grandmother wasn't going to be that person anyway, even if the old woman was interested in the teenager's humdrum life.   
  
The neighbor that Clear's grandparents lived in was nothing more then a glorified cul-de-sac, which meant a very short walk for both owner and puppy. However, Clear decided that since it was a nice night that she should extend the stroll into the adjacent neighborhoods. Prince tugged against his lead but, thankfully, didn't manage to pull lose.   
  
If Clear had been more familiar with the topography of the surrounding neighborhoods she would have known the neighborhood directly behind hers was Creek Mill, otherwise known as the neighborhood that Alex lived in.   
  
Of course, Clear did not know this information until she saw Alex standing on the sidewalk a few houses down from his own, tugging on a dog's leash as the golden retriever subsequently ignored him in favor of sniffing at a bush. Prince appeared not to notice the other dog and continued to sniff the concrete, which gave Clear the opportunity to study Alex for a moment, letting herself forget about Tod and commit to memory the way the moonlight shadowed Alex's faces in all the right places and how cute he looked when he was frustrated.   
  
The German Shepard puppy tugged forward and Clear forced herself to walk forward, attempting to appear nonchalant and inconspicuous as she neared Alex. The boy continued to tug at the Golden Retriever's leash, unaware that there was anyone else on the road with them. Prince perked his ears suddenly, and whipped his head in the direction of the dog to his left; the tiny puppy began to bark viciously, startling both Clear and Alex.   
  
The Retriever turned as well, a low growl rising in his throat, the hair on his hackles rising. "Cherokee, no." Alex mumbled, glancing down at the dog and tightly his grip on the leash.   
  
The dog rushed forward, heedless of Alex's warning and charged the puppy; Alex attempted to retract the nylon leashing that fed out of plastic circle in his hand but the retriever continued forward. Prince whimpered and ducked behind his master's legs; Clear's presence did nothing to deter the barking Cherokee and he rushed around the brunette's legs, wrapping the tight nylon around her legs.   
  
Alex attempted to get hold of the dog, put the retriever only pulled harder and the leash slipped completely out of his hands. Clear let out a cry of surprise and pain and dropped to her knees, the robe tie slipping out of her hand as well. Prince noticed he was lose and took off running down the street, yelping as though the hounds of hell were on his tail. Cherokee attempted to chase after him, pulling the leash tighter around Clear's legs, but he couldn't manage any more heed way.   
  
"Cherokee! Sit, boy, stop! Lay down! Play dead; sit!" Alex commanded, desperately attempting to gain control of the dog and untangle Clear, who was attempting to claw the nylon away from her skin.   
  
Seeing that the puppy he wanted so desperately to eat had vanished, Cherokee finally stopped pulling and sat down on the concrete, yawning. Alex knelt and began to untangle the leash, sighing slightly when Clear was freed; Clear frowned and gingerly pulled up her pant leg to see that the nylon had rubbed through the skin, giving her a stinging wound.   
  
"Are you all right?" Alex asked, looking at the brunette with a concerned expression upon his face.   
  
Clear nodded once, letting Alex help her to her feet. She looked around, her frown deepening when she realized that her puppy was no where to be seen. "Look, Clear, I'm really sorry about that, I have no idea what got into this dog; are you sure you're all right?" Alex questioned, causing Clear to look his direction.   
  
"I think so but, I also think my dog ran away." Clear muttered, testing her weight on her leg and wincing when the stinging returned in full force.   
  
Alex looked guilty for a moment before going back to looking concerned as he stooped to pick up Cherokee's leash, surprised at how suddenly docile the dog was. As he straightened, he caught a glimpse of the brunette's raw leg and wrinkled his nose unconsciously. "Your leg looks really bad, Clear, maybe you should have someone take a look at it." He remarked, confused at where his deep concern was springing from. He had a girlfriend all ready and Clear had a boyfriend, his own best friend.   
  
Clear shrugged, attempting to look nonchalant despite the pain in her leg. "I think I'll be fine." She mumbled, touched at how worried Alex seemed about her well-being. Perhaps he did care about her after all...   
  
"My parents could probably give you a ride home if you wanted, so you don't have to walk. And maybe on the way we can look for your dog." Alex offered, hoping that his parents wouldn't reject his hospitality.   
  
A smile spread across Clear's face at his words and she nodded once, feeling color rise into her cheeks, grateful that Alex couldn't see her in the dark. "If it's not too much trouble." She mumbled, wanting to take him up on his offer but not wanting to be an inconvenience. Another plus to accepting his offer was the fact that her leg was hurting like crazy and she didn't much like the idea of traipsing through the brush and hurting herself even more.   
  
With that matter settled, Alex and Clear headed toward the Browning house, Clear limping along and Alex leading the now calm retriever as he walked so enough so that he didn't leave the girl behind. During the short walk the two made small talk, which included Clear telling Alex about getting a job at the Green Igloo and Alex explaining that he was taking care of the neighbor's dog.   
  
When they arrived at the Browning house, Alex was grateful that his mother and father didn't seem to mind Clear's arrival and the fact that they'd have to take her home in a few minutes. Alex led Clear into the kitchen and directed her to sit at the kitchen table while he wet a rag for her to hold against her leg. The brunette looked around while Alex busied himself, taking in the decor and trying to pretend as though being in her crush's house was no big deal. Thinking about Alex as her crush made her feel guilty because she did have Tod, after all, who truly did care about her.   
  
"So, I'm really sorry about your dog, but I'm sure he'll turn up. Just like Lassie." Alex assured Clear as he wrung the rag out and carried it over to the brunette. He knelt and pressed the rag to her bare leg before he even realized what he was doing. Alex glanced up at Clear, who was staring down at him; both of them blushed and Alex stood, handing the rag to the brunette, who took it shyly.   
  
"Um...I don't think my dog knows his way home, I just got him yesterday." She mumbled, clearing her throat as she pressed the rag against her leg just as Alex had done seconds earlier. However, the water didn't seem to have as soothing an effect as it had when he had held the rag.   
  
Alex shifted awkwardly, running his hand through his hair as he turned away from the brunette, sighing deeply. He couldn't keep himself from thinking about attractive Clear was and how he had never realized it until just that moment. Sighing again, he turned to face her, wondering if saying anything would change their situation or just make it worse. "Clear I-" Alex began but was cut off when his mother entered the kitchen.   
  
"Clear, Alex's father is ready to run you home now." Barbara told the brunette, causing both teenager's to look her way.   
  
Clear nodded once, setting the rag back on the table and standing up, muttering a thank you to both Alex and his mother before hobbling out of the kitchen to follow Ken Browning toward the family car.   
  
Once Clear had disappeared, Barbara turned to face her son, who seemed to be staring into thin air, or perhaps at some mental image that only he could see. "That Clear girl seems nice," she ventured deciding to continue when her son looked over at her. "She seems nicer then Adrienne." Barbara knew it wasn't her place to judge Alex's girlfriends but she couldn't help herself. Adrienne reminded her too much of the bitchy girls she had known when she had gone to high school with, the sort of girls that only dated guys to hurt them.   
  
Alex thought about objecting but stopped himself before he could even think of a plausible retort. His mother did have a point, one that he found he couldn't deny.   
  
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So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it's based on a true story of something that happened to me. Sadly, however, there were no hot guys to free me from my dog's nylon leash; if you've never had nylon wrapped around your leg while a dog was pulling with all her might to get free, the consider yourself lucky. It hurts like hell. Anyway, "Why Can't I?" belongs to Liz Phair and I thought I'd come back to the roots of these stories for this song. Don't worry Dharke, I'm trying to find an Eminem song for you. Please review. 


	5. Suspicions

So, thanks again for all the reviews, I love you all! (See, Dharke, is it really that bad?) Sorry for the long gaps between chapters; when I finish my FD3 story, then I'll be freer to concentrate on this story and the FD-musical. So, until it's finished, bare with me and review and enjoy. I know this is a short chapter but please don't kill me, be kind in your reviews (Dharke...hehe, just kidding) and the next chapter will be longer. I'm just trying to give you guys something to tide you over with. So, review and enjoy!  
  
When you say you love me, do you mean it?  
  
Baby when you hold me, do you feel it?  
  
Chapter Five   
  
Suspicions   
  
When Clear finally returned home, she was surprised to see her grandparents still awake, since she had always figured that nine o'clock was past their bedtime. However, the were sitting on the couch, watching a rerun of 'Saturday Night Live' from what appeared to be the 70's. As Clear passed through the living room on the way toward the stairs, her grandmother turned toward her granddaughter and said, "Oh, Clear, some boy called for you, a Ted or Tod or something."   
  
Clear smiled faintly, still feeling slightly guilty over what had transpired between Alex and she so she hurried upstairs to call Tod in hopes of easing some of the burden. She knew that she had nothing to be really guilty about but that was the way she felt; in the kitchen, things had felt really intimate with Alex and she had felt like she could have told him anything right that very moment, a feeling she had never gotten when she was with Tod.   
  
But, she should have been more open with Tod then with Alex, since Tod had been the person that had stuck beside her, when Alex had fallen for another girl in the middle of asking her out. Tod had given her her first kiss and been the first guy that ever really showed an interest in her. And here she was, still in love with Alex Browning.   
  
Clear took the cordless phone into her room and shut the door, dropping onto her bed as she dialed Tod's number. Tod answered on the second ring, as though he had been waiting for her to call, which did nothing to elevate the way that she felt. "Hi Tod," Clear greeted, attempting to keep her voice light.   
  
"Hey Clear. I called about thirty minutes ago and your grandmother said that you were out giving your dog a walk. How long does it take to walk your dog?" Tod questioned, though it was obvious that he was simply making conversation and not prying into an unimportant aspect of her life.   
  
Clear sighed, though she attempted to keep the exhale from Tod. "I ran into a little complication, I guess. I ran into Alex and the dog he was walking, which chased away my dog. The walk took longer then I'd expected." She explained, lightly touching her raw leg, which stung when she did.   
  
"I didn't know Alex had a dog." Tod mused, which caused Clear to explain that he was only dog-sitting his neighbors' uncontrollable dog. "So, your dog ran away?" He questioned once the information about the dog had been sorted out.   
  
Clear sighed again, this time audibly. "Yeah, but Alex said that he would probably find his way home, but I doubt it, since I've only had Prince for a few days." She detailed, wondering if Tod was going to press into every aspect of her conversation with Alex and what had happened afterward.   
  
There was a pause on Tod's end of the line, but it was short silence, before he said, "So, you and Alex talked a lot?" It was obvious that he was trying not to sound jealous, or even interested but Clear could pick up both emotions in his voice.   
  
"Well, you know...not a lot, just making conversation." Clear answered, still trying to keep the light tone about her voice and words. She was telling the truth, they had been just making conversation, but she didn't know why it felt like so much more.   
  
"Clear, I don't want to keep bringing this up but, I can't help it," Tod began, his words causing Clear to purse her lips unhappily. "Are you still...interested in Alex?"   
  
It was a question that she had been dreading, one that she wasn't quite sure she was ready to answer. If he wanted the truth, he wasn't going to be happy with the answer that she was going to give but she wasn't sure that she could pull off a lie. Though, it might be easier over the phone but Clear was certain that the question would come up later and it might be over the phone.   
  
"No, of course not." Clear managed to stammer, hoping that her voice sounded less wavering to Tod. "You're my boyfriend Tod, I'm only interested in you."   
  
Her answered seemed to satisfy Tod for he said nothing more about the subject through the duration of their phone conversation.   
  
* * *   
  
Long after he had hung up with Clear and had retired for the night, Tod found himself still thinking about their conversation, his suspicions about Clear's interest in Alex taking full bloom, now that he had time to obsess about it. Clear had seemed nervous during the whole phone conversation, even when they weren't talking about Alex, as though there was more to the events of the night then she was telling him. And, to make matters worse, Tod had begun to notice that Alex was seeming more interested in Clear then he had before.   
  
Even if he didn't have absolute faith in Clear's loyalties, since he had only known her for a week, he trusted Alex fully, since he had known him since pre-school and they had been best friends since that time. He was certain that his friend would never do anything to stab him in the back; they had always promised each other that friendship was more important then girls.   
  
But, it wasn't Alex that he was falling in love with. It was Clear and he didn't know if he could handle it if she was thinking about someone else when they were together, or if she even went so far to cheat on him. She was his first girlfriend, after all, and he didn't want to get hurt that way.   
  
Tod tried to take comfort in the fact that Clear had promised him that she wasn't interested in Alex any longer and he wanted desperately to believe her. But it was difficult for him to ignore the little looks that Alex and Clear seemed to be giving each other. Difficult for him to believe what she said.   
  
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The song is "When You Say You Love Me" by Clay Aiken. I hoped you liked this short chapter, please review and be patient, hang in there my lovely readers. I promise, I'm going to start updating more often. 


	6. Good Enough

Okay so, today is Thanksgiving in the U.S. so I want to wish everyone happy Thanksgiving and happy holidays! I'm watching the Macy's Day Parade (I know, it's lame but I watch it every year) so I thought I'd write some chapters in this story. Sorry for the long wait, but FD3 is written so, it's all about this story for the time being. Thanks for the reviews while I've been away, glad to see that no one has given up hope yet. So, here's another chapter and I hope you enjoy and review! 

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Just let me try and I will be good to you

Just let me try and I will be there for you

I'll show you you're some much better then

good enough. 

Chapter Six 

As usual, it was difficult to maneuver through the halls of Mt. Abraham during before school started and actually succeed in finding whoever one was looking for. That knowledge, however, didn't stop Tod from trying to locate the girl that he now called his girlfriend, with his best friend tagging along at his side prattling on about some new video game he had seen. Ordinarily, Tod would have joined in adamantly but his mind was not on games but on Clear and needing to talk to her before French class when he had more time; he also didn't want Alex hanging around or anyone else to overhear. 

However, it appeared that Clear was no where to be found, hidden off somewhere in a vast corner of the school that he would never reach by first period. Surely against his better judgment, Tod turned to Alex and asked, "Do you know where Clear is?" 

Alex gave him a strange look, one that his friend had never seen before. "Why would I know where Clear is?" He questioned, the look remaining on his face, giving Tod the time to figure out that it was a mixture of guilt and confusion. Tod didn't want to know where the guilt came from. 

Instead of answering, Tod simply shrugged his shoulders, remaining silent, except for to bid his friend a stony goodbye as he stepped into his first period class. 

* * * 

Clear was already seated in French class, talking with Alex, by the time Tod arrived; the sight of the two talking together almost infuriated him before he caught hold of himself. _They're friends, they're allowed to talk to each other, that doesn't mean anything, _he reminded himself, smiling at his friends as he approached. 

"Hey, Clear, I was looking for you earlier." Tod said as he kissed her on the cheek, feeling oddly possessive as he did so. 

Clear smiled, feeling slightly embarrassed though she wasn't quite sure why; Tod was, after all, her boyfriend and couples kissed, it was common knowledge. Maybe her feelings came from the fact that Alex was sitting right in front of her, looking as though he was doing his best to appear nonchalant. Was it possible that Alex was jealous of Tod, that he was actually showing feelings toward her now that she _had _a boyfriend? _What a conundrum_, Clear thought with a sigh, frowning. 

"Really? How come?" Clear questioned to Tod's earlier remark, hoping that they weren't going to get into an discussion like they had on the phone last night. 

Tod shrugged slightly, though he clearly had the answer on his mind. "I just needed to talk to you, but we can talk later." He answered, taking his seat next to Alex. 

Alex was still turned to face Clear, but turned his attention to his friend for a brief second before glancing at the brunette once more. "So, did your dog come back home last night?" He questioned, hoping that his guilt about Prince running off would be elevated. 

Clear pursed her lips and shook her head. "No, not yet, I think I'm going to have to make some of those lost dog posters." She told him, wondering if Prince would be found at all, by anyone. 

"I can help you look, I don't have any plans for the day." Tod offered, trying to pretend like he wasn't offering before Alex had a chance to. Clear was his girlfriend and therefore, it was his responsibility to help her out. 

Clear smiled at him appreciatively but shook her head. "I can't look today, I start my first shift at the Green Igloo right after school today." She explained, feeling a strange sort of pride in saying those words. She finally had a job, though, if she couldn't find her puppy, then the whole ordeal was sort of for nothing. 

Alex smiled slightly. "Now that you're a working girl, does that mean that your friends get discounts?" He questioned, half serious, half joking, wondering what Clear would say. The Green Igloo was his favorite restaurant and having a little friendly discount wouldn't be such a bad thing in the long run. 

"It's only my first day, but I'll see what I can do." Clear said with a slight smile and a wink, causing Alex to chuckle and Tod to force himself to do the same, trying not to look like he cared so much. 

Clear noticed Tod's slightly jealous look and attempted to pretend like she didn't; not only was Alex possibly jealous of Tod but Tod was very jealous of Alex. He was reading between the lines that were beginning to exist, the possible chemistry between her and Alex that was threatening to make itself known; plus, Tod had known all along that she had liked Alex and he would have to be completely stupid to think that her feelings had changed over night. But, as much as Clear liked (or perhaps even loved) Alex, she was going out with Tod now and she wasn't going to hurt and betray him. 

"You should stop by later, Tod, you can keep me company if things so slow." Clear suggested, looking only at Tod this time as she spoke, hoping to smooth out some of the tension that had sprung up between the three of them. 

Tod smiled and nodded. "All right, I think I just might stop by, experience the waitressing of Ms. Clear Rivers." He joked with a smile, causing Clear to shake her head. 

"I can't promise too much, I've never been a waitress before, so don't get your hopes up." She told him, shrugging her shoulders. She hoped that she wouldn't prove to be a poor waitress and get fired before she even had the chance to serve a single meal. 

"I have complete faith in your serving abilities." Tod told her, causing Clear to smile. It was true that he had faith Clear being a waitress but he wasn't sure if that wasn't the only thing he had faith in her about. As Tod studied both Clear and Alex, he wondered what Clear saw in his friend that he didn't have. What made him not good enough for her? 

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So, here's another chapter, I hope to write more soon since I have a good bit of vacation left. I hope you enjoy what I've written so far (I know this isn't the best chapter but I'm trying to set the scene) and please review. 


	7. Losing Love

Sorry, Curtis, that the last chapter wasn't very long; I'm hitting patches of writer's block and I just wanted to get a chapter posted. I hope to have all the details smoothed out and the chapters longer. Thanks to all the reviewers and their reviews, it's just what my muse needs. I urge everyone (there I am, being pushy again, ah Dharke?) to read Dharke's "The Missing Days" story for her continuation of the missing Prince part of this story. So, please review and enjoy! 

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I've come to know the rules and all the scriptures of love

If it ain't real, fake it. If ain't yours, take it. If it don't exist the make it. 

Chapter Seven 

Losing Love 

Another Mt. Abraham School day was over, which signaled freedom for most of the study body. But for Clear, it signaled the start of her first day of work at the Green Igloo, a job she was beginning to believe that she wasn't quite cut out for. She waited until the hallways were almost empty before slipping out of her last period class, her tardiness due to the fact that she didn't want to risk another run in with Tod and Alex. She was certain that Tod would stop by the Igloo during a point in the afternoon, just as she had suggested, and press her more about what was going on between her and Alex, which was not a conversation she was looking forward to. 

Clear managed to slip out of the parking lot without being cornered by Tod and began walking toward the center of town in the direction of the Green Igloo. She wondered if the butterflies she felt in her stomach were strictly first day on the job nerves and not something more, something connected to the problem involving Tod and Alex that was surely just going to get bigger. Could she really keep denying the fact that she still felt something for Alex, still felt fluttery inside every time he smiled at her or even glanced her way. Emotions that she definitely didn't feel with Tod. 

_Enough,_ Clear reprimanded herself mentally, _don't think about that right now, you have a job to concentrate on. _ But, worrying about the first problem with her first boyfriend was job in itself. 

The Green Igloo soon came into view and Clear forced her boyfriend troubles to take a hike and replace themselves with thoughts about how not to screw up her first day as a waitress. Bree Scott was once again standing at the hostess' podium at the entrance, looking tired and slightly stressed out. Her face brightened immediately when she saw Clear and quickly went to greet her. 

"Thank God you're here, this is always the busiest time when everyone gets out of school and we've only got Rachel working the floor right now." Bree began to explain as she led the brunette toward the back of the restaurant once more. "And let me tell you, when Rachel gets stressed out, she gets even more irate then she normally is." 

Clear nodded, placing Bree's words in some back file of her mind to save for later. So there were only two fellow waitresses, Clear mused, if the other was anything like Bree she figured she they would all get along just fine. 

Bree had led the new employee into the kitchen, which was hot and filled with steam and the smell of burning food and dish washing detergent. Two burly chefs were working diligently to fill the orders that were scrawled out on yellow slips of paper, sweating as they bustled about from oven to oven. Aside from the chefs, there was only one other person in the kitchen, the other waitress by the looks of her green apron and frazzled expression. She appeared older then Bree and herself, with blonde hair that fell skewed across her face and blue eyes alight with impatience and exhaustion. 

"Clear, this is Rachel Campbell, the other waitress." Bree introduced as they approached the older girl. "Rachel this is-" She attempted to continue before Rachel Campbell cut her off. 

"This better be the knew girl that Stricken hired, otherwise we're in deep shit because I've only got two hands and feet and there's a bunch of impatient people out there." Rachel snapped, giving Clear the once-over before rolling her eyes. "But she doesn't look much like a waitress, more like a circus reject from the beaver people act." 

Clear frowned at her words, brow knotting as she thought about a smart retaliation before her moment was gone. However, Bree spoke before she had a chance to completely form her retort. "Rachel, this is Clear, the new waitress." She spoke with her eyes narrowed, as though warning the other waitress to watch her mouth. 

Rachel didn't seem to notice Bree's warning, or, if she did, didn't bother to acknowledge what she had said. Instead of speaking at first, however, she handed Clear a small notepad and pen, slipping off her apron and depositing it in the brunette's hands. "On that case, then, I'm on my break. Table three is ready for their food order." And with that, Rachel breezed out of the kitchen and toward the back door. 

Clear frowned and stared at the apron and notepad in her hands; this wasn't exactly how she had pictured her first day as a waitress to go and this certainly wasn't how she pictured her fellow employees. She had envisioned a scene that might have come straight from _Cheers _or some other old television show. 

"Don't worry about Rachel, she never thinks before she speaks but she's really not a bad person. Believe it or not, she's actually nice once you've been around her for three months." Bree said, as though sensing her discomfort and confusion. "As for waitressing, it's easier then you'd think; the tables are arranged by number, starting from the one closest to the door, which is one. All you have to do is pop out there every so often to see if anyone needs anything and be here when the orders are up." 

Clear nodded, taking comfort in Bree's words as she slipped her apron over her head and dropped it around her shoulders. She hoped it was really as easy as Bree made it out, otherwise she really would have her work cut out for her. She followed the hostess out of the kitchen and back into the main part of the restaurant, where Bree directed her toward table three. 

Putting on her best fake smile as she approached the couple at table three, Clear slipped her notepad and pen out and prepared to take down her first order. "Are you guys ready to order?" She questioned, trying to look both helpful and patient, for she was trying to be both. 

As her first customers detailed their orders to her, Clear found that she might get the hang of the waitressing thing quicker then she had thought. 

* * * 

As the afternoon began to wind into evening, the crowd of customers in the restaurant began to wind down as well. Clear was seated at one of the tables with Bree and Rachel, the three silent and reveling in the break that they were receiving; so far, the brunette believed that her day had been a success, since she had only spilled drinks once (and thankfully, while stilling in the kitchen) and only confused an order twice. Both times had provided ample teasing from Rachel, but even now the blonde seemed too exhausted to lay into her anymore for the moment. 

The brass bell above the entrance jingled, signaling the arrival of another customer; with a weary sigh, Bree got to her feet and trudged to the hostess podium. "Hi, welcome to the Green Igloo." She greeted, doing well to hide her exhaustion. 

Clear looked toward the entrance to see Tod standing in front of Bree, an indecisive look upon his face. "I'm actually here to see Clear, is she busy?" He questioned seconds before he saw his girlfriend, who put a smile upon her face. 

Bree gestured behind her before stepping away from the entrance to drop down beside Rachel once more. Tod walked past the podium, smiling at the brunette as he approached; he took a seat from a nearby empty table and sat down next to his girlfriend. "So, how's it going so far?" He questioned, noting her weary expression. 

"Busy. I think this is the first chance I've had to sit down since I got here; who knew waitressing would be so tiresome?" Clear answered, noting the rolled eyed expression she got from Rachel. 

Tod squeezed his girlfriend's hand in a gesture of comfort. "Well, I'm sure you'll be used to it after a while." He remarked, leaning back in his chair and letting his eyes scan the decorum before returning to Clear's face. "So, uh, has Alex stopped by?" Tod hated himself for asking the question as soon as he saw Clear's expression. 

"Tod, do you have to keep bringing that up? I'm going out with you, _not _Alex. And no, he didn't stop by." Clear answered, too tired to put much more feeling into her words then flat tone. "Did you come by just to ask me that?" She hadn't meant for emotion to enter that question, but it had, and she didn't like the way she had sounded. 

Tod couldn't keep a glare off his face at Clear's words. "No, I didn't stop by to ask you that, I stopped by to see how you were doing." He snapped back, realizing that coming by at all had been a bad idea. This wasn't the ideal relationship that he had once envisioned, this was something different. 

"You're the one that brought up Alex, so don't snap at me." Clear retorted, her exhaustion beginning to taper away, replaced by anger. "When are you going to get over yourself long enough to realize that there's nothing going on between Alex and I?" She questioned, not quite sure she wanted to hear the answer. 

Tod pursed his lips and stood up, nosily sliding his chair back where it belonged. "I don't want to talk about this right now. I'll call her later." He mumbled and, with that, turned and left the restaurant. Clear knew that his call wasn't going to be a social one, just a continuation of what they had started here, or perhaps long before. 

Clear wondered if it was a bad thing that she was actually happy to see him go. With a sigh, she buried her head in the palm of her hands, too tired and confused to think properly. 

"Boyfriend troubles." Bree mused with a nod of her head. "I've been there." Clear looked up at her, trying to figure out if she was being condescending or simply somewhat comforting. Bree didn't look either, but she certainly didn't look like she was making fun of the brunette. 

Rachel rolled her eyes and leaned back against her chair. "The trick with boyfriends is to get them so whipped by the first date that they don't even think to question anything you do. Works for me every time." She remarked, looking less helpful and more like she was simply bragging about one of her accomplishments. 

"Rachel, it's amazing you even have a boyfriend." Clear remarked, wondering if she would begin to wish that she hadn't spoken. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rachel snapped, raising an eyebrow. When Clear didn't answer, the blonde seemed more then happy to let it go. "With boys, you just gotta let 'em know who's boss." She murmured, more to herself, as though to remind them all just who _was _the boss. 

Bree turned away from Rachel, pointedly ignoring the blonde, who didn't seem to care and focusing her attention upon Clear. "What were you guys fighting about anyway?" She questioned, not sounding like she knew that she was treading upon unsafe ground. The fact that she had known Clear for less then six hours did nothing to keep her from asking. 

"There's this boy at school, and my brother thinks that there's something going on between the two of us." Clear answered, sighing deeply as she thought about it. 

Bree raised an eyebrow. "Is there?" She questioned, as though she were determined to get to the bottom of all of Clear's relationship problems. 

Clear thought for a moment about how exactly to answer Bree's question. "It's not like you'd think, exactly. I just moved here and Alex was the first boy that I had a crush on; Tod, my brother, is Alex's best friend. I think the only thing going on between Alex and I is that I still have a crush on him. He does, after all, have a girlfriend." She answered finally, pursing her lips. 

"Well, even if you still like the other guy, you have to pretend like you don't. That's the only way that you're going to have a happy relationship with your boyfriend: fake it." Bree advised, nodding once. 

Clear wondered if Bree's words were the best advice she had gotten in a long while. 

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The song is "If it Ain't Broke (Break It)" by Mike Vogel from the MTV movie _Wuthering Heights. _


	8. Longing For Flight

Okay, first of all I would like to apologize for the whole brother/boyfriend thing. I should have checked what I was writing, thank God my loyal readers understood what I meant and didn't go into that Kansas backwoods, _Wrong Turn _style thing. Anyways, thanks for the reviews, loved them all! 

__

Some days you stammer, some days you rhyme. 

Some days your theirs, some days your mine. Mine for all time. 

Chapter Eight

Longing for Flight 

It was nearly six thirty by the time Clear was finally able to leave the Green Igloo and start heading back to her grandparents' house. With a weary sigh, she began heading down the sidewalk, surprised when she saw Tod sitting on the curb, leaned against a streetlight pole. Squinting her eyes, as though that would help her see better, Clear questioned, "Tod?" causing the figure to turn around. 

It was indeed Tod, who forced a sheepish smile upon his face he stood up, brushing his palms across his pant legs. "Hi, Clear, I really need to talk to you." He said as he walked over to her, causing Clear to raise an eyebrow. 

"Have you been sitting there ever since you left the restaurant?" She questioned, hoping that he would say no so that the guilt that she already felt wouldn't grow even more. 

Tod nodded, looking even more sheepish then he had moments before. "After I left, I realized that arguing isn't going to fix anything but I needed to talk to you in private. So, I thought I'd wait until you got off work." He explained, falling in step beside her when she continued down the sidewalk. 

"You didn't have to sit on the sidewalk for two hours, Tod." Clear said, inwardly touched by his actions. "You could have called me later tonight." 

Her boyfriend nodded, smiling slightly as he looked at her. "I know, but I kinda wanted to talk to you, face to face." He remarked, causing Clear to smile as well. Tod knew that looking her in the eyes would help him determine whether or not she was really telling the truth about Alex. 

"All right." Clear muttered, knowing exactly what he wanted to talk to her about. "I know you think there's something going on between me and Alex..." She began but Tod cut her off by stopping abruptly. 

"Is there? Honestly, I mean, I really want to know. Is there anything going on between you and Alex?" Tod asked, locking eyes with her and forcing the question out much more forcibly then he had intended. He really wanted..._needed _and straight answer from her.

Clear thought for a moment, deciding how she could phrase the answer so that Tod would finally get the idea and drop the subject. "I used to like him, but now I like you. You're sweet and funny and you're my boyfriend. And there is nothing going on between Alex and I." She finally assured him, remembering Bree's words from earlier. She was having a harder and harder time attempting to deny that there anything going on between her and Alex; she had felt it when they were in his kitchen alone and had seen the jealousy in his face when Tod had kissed her earlier that morning. But Clear didn't want to hurt Tod, or hurt herself or ruin the childhood relationship that Alex and Tod had and knew that she would do all of those things if she told Tod the truth. 

Tod studied her, as though trying to read the thoughts that she didn't want to share. Finally he sighed, looking apologetic once more. "I only keep bringing this up because I really like you, Clear and I don't want to lose you. I see the way Alex looks at you sometimes, and don't want to lose you to him." He told her, cupping her cheek with his hand and smiling slightly. 

Clear felt her cheeks redden and her guilt increase; Tod was so caring and romantic, she didn't deserve someone like him, not for all the looks and smiles she gave Alex. She was still contemplating her guilt when Tod kissed her; Clear's eyes fluttered closed and she returned the kiss, surprised when she found herself imaging that she would see Alex when she opened her eyes. Almost as soon she thought those things, Tod broke the kiss and studied her quizzically. 

"Why do you that?" He questioned, causing Clear to become confused through her guilt. She realized that she was foolish for thinking that Tod could read her thoughts but knew that she deserved the emotions that she felt. She had imagined kissing someone else after all of those things Tod had said to her. 

"Do what?" Clear forced herself to say, trying not to look like she had just run over someone's pet dog and curious to see what Tod was talking about. 

"Close your eyes when I kiss you." Tod answered, still regarding her quizzically. "Why do you do that?" 

Clear frowned, wondering where his question had come from; she didn't even realize that did close her eyes when he kissed her. "I don't know." She answered, realizing that it was the first bit of truth that she had spoken since they had started talking. "I guess it helps me forget about everything, get away from everything." Clear wasn't certain that those were the right words to say but they were the only ones she could think of. 

Tod smiled slightly, looking neither confused nor assured. "What do you want to get away from?" He asked, causing the brunette's frown to deepen. 

Clear didn't answer, knowing that her words would not be anything that Tod wanted to her; she wanted to get away from the whole ordeal between her, Alex and him. She wanted to be kissing Alex on the sidewalk and not his best friend but Alex had ignored her in favor of some blonde bimbo. She had gone for second best, and it had caused more trouble then she had realized. 

* * * 

Alex was experiencing a strange sense of _deja-vu_ and knowing exactly where it was coming from; it was no supernatural occurrence, it was the fact that he was sitting in his kitchen once more staring at his math homework and listening to his girlfriend, the lovely but not too bright Adrienne Grant prattle on about cheerleading camp. And he was, once again, thinking about Clear and the events of the previous night; he had been happy to run into her last night, though he wished things had turned out better. And now, not even pretending to listen to Adrienne, Alex was sketching a pictured of a German Shepard puppy that looked like a car had run over it. 

Noticing that her supposedly devoted boyfriend was doing something other then hanging on her every word, Adrienne narrowed her eyes as she studied Alex, who was concentrating on scribbling a picture on his algebra homework. "What are you doing? And what is that you're drawing?" She questioned, pursing her lips. 

Alex looked up at Adrienne then back down at his drawing before looking at her once more. "A puppy dog, I was thinking I would make _Lost Dog _fliers because Clear's puppy ran away." He answered, not sure why he had told his girlfriend what he was planning to do. Adrienne was notoriously jealous, though he was beginning to see how easy it was to experience that emotion. 

Adrienne frowned, staring at the sickly looking dog as though it had caused World War II. "That beaver-looking girl? Why do you want to help her?" She questioned, flipping her hair behind her shoulders as she so often did. 

Alex rolled his eyes and shut his notebook, causing the dog and the jumbled numbers to disappear. "Because it's my fault that her dog ran away in the first place." He answered, wishing that he was anywhere but the kitchen. "And she doesn't look like a beaver." 

Adrienne rolled her eyes as well, doing her best not to look shocked at Alex's retort and decided that now would be a good time to file her nails, continuing her story. Alex sighed and leaned back against his chair, deciding that knocking his head against the table would be too obvious, even for Adrienne. How he had ever picked this bimbo over Clear, he would never know but one thing Alex did know was that if terrorists had ever wanted to bust into his kitchen and gun him down, now would be a good time. 

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So, "Stuck" is trying to make a comeback, crawling its way over the block that his imprisoned it. Well, that was a bit dramatic but, what can I say? As for Clear and Tod's discussion about her closing her eyes when she kisses him, I must have to say that I got a lot of it from the movie _Wuthering Heights _that was on MTV. The song is "Shine" by Mike Vogel. 


	9. Remaining Doubts

Wow, hasn't it been forever since this story was updated; it sure seems that way for me. I must confess something to my readers that, for a while, I was considering abandoning my stories but then I realized I couldn't do such a thing. So, here is "Stuck" back for a comeback. Sorry for the break, but I hope everyone is still interested. So, please review so I know that everyone's still out there! 

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I know you think that I shouldn't still love you or tell you that 

But if I didn't say it, well I'd still have felt it, where's the sense in that? 

Chapter Nine 

Remaining Doubts 

The following day, Clear found herself unwilling to go to school; it was true that no normal teenager actually _wanted _to go to school but this feeling was much different then just the usual resentment. It was true that she had managed to smooth things over between her and Tod, but how long would that last when Alex was around to stir up trouble once again. Yet, as she got ready that morning, Clear found herself thinking not of Tod but of Alex, just as she always seemed to be doing; she didn't know what sort of person it made her to think about someone else when she had her own boyfriend but she was certain that it wasn't anything good. 

Tying her hair back into a ponytail, Clear finally stepped away from the mirror without giving herself another glance and headed out of her bedroom and down the stairs. She bypassed the kitchen and slipped out the front door after snatching up her backpack, in no mood to force small talk with her grandparents. Leaving a little bit earlier wasn't exactly a bad thing either; it would give her a chance to finish the homework she had neglected after returning from The Green Igloo last night as well as give her a chance to think about Tod and Alex. She always figured that if things got really bad between the three of them, that she'd just break up with Tod and that would be that; she had no desire to ruin the childhood friendship that her boyfriend and his best friend shared and hoped that it didn't come to that anyway. Why couldn't Tod just realized that there was nothing physical between her and Alex? That would make things a whole lot more simple. 

_Or you could stop thinking about Alex and actually remember, for once, that you _have _a boyfriend, _Clear reminded herself as she trudged down the sidewalk. She really had started the whole mess in the first place, now that she thought about it. Perhaps it was up to her to make sure that it didn't get any worse. 

When she arrived at Mt. Abraham High, she found that half the student population had already arrived, including Alex, Tod and George, who were grouped together discussing a football game from one day or another. When he saw Clear, Tod smiled and waved her over, slipping his arm around her waist as soon as she had joined them. Alex gave the brunette a half smile as he continued to speak with George and she couldn't help but appreciate his apparent lack of interest in her, it made things much easier. 

The conversation about the football game began to taper off, George turned to face Clear and, in an attempt to get rid of the silence, said, "So, Tod tells me that your dog ran away." It wasn't the best of conversation starters, but it was obvious that no one else was going to say anything. 

Clear nodded, feeling a pang of sadness at the mention of Prince; with all the chaos of starting a new job and what was going on between her and Tod she hadn't had any time to go looking for her lost dog. "He's been missing for almost two days, I doubt he'll find his way home." She admitted, not for the first time. 

"That reminds me," Alex murmured, setting his backpack down by his feet and kneeling, digging through his binders until he pulled out a wrinkled sheet of paper. "I made these last night, I figured we could put them up around the neighborhoods and maybe find your dog that way." He handed Clear the paper and she saw that it was a _Lost Dog _flyer, complete with a picture of a German Shepard that had been printed off the internet and therefore looked nothing like Prince. 

Despite that fact, she couldn't help but smile, honestly touched by his interest in helping her find Prince. "Thank you, Alex." She said graciously, still smiling widely. She wished that she could say more, but with Tod standing beside her, didn't want to risk starting the smoldering problems once again. 

Alex smiled as well, nodding, seeming to sense the meaning for Clear's restraint and seeming slightly bothered by that fact. He knew it was his fault to begin with that he wasn't the one to have his arm around her waist, the reason that his best friend was constantly watching every move that he made. If he had never asked Adrienne out then he _would _be going out with Clear and they wouldn't have to be stepping so lightly around each other. 

Before the situation got any more awkward, the school bell rang, signaling that Mt. Abraham students had exactly two minutes to get to their first period classes. Tod gave Clear a goodbye kiss on the cheek before rushing off toward his class, worried, as he always was, that he would be late; George headed off toward gym, leaving Alex and Clear to walk off toward their respective first periods. 

"Thank you for making the fliers." Clear told Alex as they walked, smiling at him. "I really mean it, that means a lot to me." 

Alex smiled in return, the gesture seeming much more genuine. "You're welcome. It was sort of my fault that Prince ran away in the first place, so I thought it was the least I could do." He told her, still smiling slightly. He suddenly stopped walking and turned to face Clear, who found herself slightly surprised by his sudden change in demeanor. "Look, I'm sorry about everything that's happening, between you and me and Tod, it's all my fault." 

"Alex, you don't have to say anything." Clear told him, sighing inwardly and wishing that he had never spoken. If he hadn't, then she might not be so tempted to reveal just how she really felt about him. "It's not-" 

He held up his hand to silence her. "It is, it is my fault because I decided to go out with Adrienne when I should have just gone out with you in the first place. I thought that going out with Adrienne would be what I've always wanted but it turns out that it's nothing like I wanted and-" 

Now it was Clear's turn to silence him, shaking her head and sighing. "Alex, _please _don't do this, don't say anything. Don't make it harder then it already is. I'm going out with Tod now," she turned away slightly, staring down at her feet. "You're too late." 

Alex shook his head as well, brow knitting. "I don't want to be too late. Don't you get it, Clear, it's you that I've finally realized that I've liked all along. Tod will understand if..." He trailed off, wondering just what he was saying. Did he really want to hurt his friend, jeopardize the friendship that they'd had for so long? Was it really worth it? 

"No, he won't." Clear said when Alex was silent. "I like you, Alex, I always have and I wish you had realized that you felt the same way earlier. Now it's too late and there's nothing any of us can do about it." She tried to ignore the flicker of hurt that she saw cross his face as she continued to speak. "I want to be happy with Tod, I really do, but I can't with you saying things like this." 

Alex found himself silent, unable to think of anything else to say to her; Clear didn't want to hurt Tod any more then he did and he realized that she was right. There was no room in their lives for 'what ifs', and it wouldn't do either of them any good to keep thinking about what might have been. _What might have been, _Alex thought, _if I hadn't been so stupid. _

Instead of saying those things, however, he just nodded and headed off down the hallway toward his first period class, leaving Clear alone in the hallway. For a moment, she stared after him, before turning and walking the opposite direction toward her own class, trying to put their conversation out of her mind. 

* * * 

Alex and Clear had been so wrapped up in each other that they didn't even notice that Tod had been watching them from outside his first period classroom, located down the hallway. He listened to their conversation intently, feeling a mixture of anger and betrayal; he almost couldn't believe the things that Alex was saying, his supposed best friend so willing to stab him in the back. He didn't know what to think anymore, didn't know if it was worth it to try anymore, or if he should just give up. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, the tension is building, or is it? Oh well...the song is "White Flag" by Dido. Just a little note, have any of my readers seen the movie _Alex & Emma, _which just came out on video. I just finished watching it and, it's a great movie but it's also a lot like this story, with the whole love triangle and such. On a different note, for those of you that the USA Television Network, _Final Destination _is actually going to be on Sunday at 9 P.M. How exciting, for me anyway. And a word to Dharke, _Dog Soldiers _is a great movie, gotta love those werewolves. Have you seen _Ginger Snaps_? 


	10. Crossing the Line

Thanks to Curtis for the first review, though I didn't mean to break your heart; I haven't had very much luck, romantically, so I guess I'm a tad bit jaded when it comes to giving "my" characters romance. Something random I'd like to say about the USA network showing of _Final Destination _that is on right nowis that is "sponsored" by Expedia.com, which is a service that helps people find low airfare. Now, is it just me, or would you not be so willing to buy a plane ticket after watching a movie in which a plane explodes? Anyways, thanks for the review and don't worry, Sparky's gonna be around for a long while. 

__

I tried to forget you but you tied bells to your name 

They jingled every time I thought of you, without shame 

I tried to be unlovable, why couldn't you do the same? 

Chapter Ten 

Crossing the Line 

Tod was silent all during French class, talking neither to Alex or to Clear, which made his girlfriend nervous. _He knows something, something more then just worrying about what might happen, _Clear thought to herself, even though she was almost certain that assumption was incorrect. She hated the way that she felt guilty about worrying whether Tod knew about her conversation with Alex earlier and it made her feel even worse, even though she hadn't really done anything. 

_Enough, _she commanded herself silently, trying to pay attention to conjugating the verb "to wash" in the past participle but not getting anywhere. _After class, just talk to Tod and get this whole thing sorted out. _However, Clear knew that she was only trying to make herself feel less guilty then she did right now. 

After class had finally dragged to an end, Clear leapt from her seat and followed Tod out of the classroom, the fact that he was walking much faster then he normally would have did not escape her mind. She ignored the look that Adrienne Grant shot her as she headed out the door, and grabbed Tod's shoulder before he could make a clean get away into the mass of students. "Tod, I need to talk to you." She said as she turned him around. 

Tod glared at her, pulling his arm away. "What is there to talk about?" He snapped, in no mood to talk to her and letting her know. He began to walk down the hallway once more but she continued after him, undeterred.

"Tod, I don't know what your goddamn problem is all of the sudden but why don't you check the attitude and listen to me." Clear snapped, the anger in her voice causing him to stop and turn to face to face her. "You really need to get over yourself because I'm getting really sick and tired of reassuring your ego every time Alex and I say a word to each other." She wasn't quite ready to get into a full blown fight with him in front of everyone in the hallway, but now she found herself more angry then actually worried about what Tod might know. 

For a moment, Tod looked as though he was going to retort, or even apologize but he remained silent; he stared at her for a second before turning abruptly and continuing down the hallway, disappearing into the throng of students. Clear watched, shaking her head in disgust, though her anger was slowly dissipating. In spite of everything, she found herself suddenly stricken with sadness over the way the whole conversation had played out. She had lost her only chance to explain, to make everything all right again. Clear suddenly realized that the old cliche was true: you didn't really appreciate something until you lost it. 

* * * 

The rest of the day seemed to pass slowly, and Clear was relived when the final bell rang and she could escape off to the Green Igloo for torture of a much more humane sort. Anything was better then the hang-dog, betrayed death stare that Tod was giving her every chance he saw her. She managed to evade Alex on her way out and headed toward the restaurant without her depression level increasing.

Clear entered the restaurant through the back door, which Bree had showed her yesterday and explained it to be the employee entrance. She found her two fellow waitresses lounging about in the kitchen, talking quietly as they watched the two chiefs work to fill orders. 

"Hey Clear." Bree greeted her when she entered the kitchen, smiling but instantly noticing how upset her fellow employee seemed. "What's the matter?" Her face knitted with concern, which was the exact opposite reaction that the brunette got from Rachel, who simply rolled her eyes and looked as though she could have cared less or was actually interesting in human suffering. 

The brunette pulled her apron across her wrinkled clothes and pulled up a set to sit across from Bree, looking as though she was doing her best to actually ignore Rachel. "The 'troubles' with my boyfriend just got a lot worse. I don't know what to do anymore." Clear answered, surprised to find herself confiding in someone that she had only known for a few days. 

Bree was silent for a moment before saying, "Well, if he doesn't accept your explanation for what's really going on then I guess it's just not worth it." She looked as though she knew that it wasn't the information Clear had been hoping for but that didn't stop her from speaking. 

Clear nodded her head, knowing that what she said was true and that she was almost out of the energy that it took to deal with Tod and Alex and wished that she had never come to Mt. Abraham in the first place. "I think you're right, I just can't get him to stop and talk to me long enough for me to actually break up with him." She told Bree, not exactly liking the way those words sounded coming from her mouth. 

Before any of the waitresses could say anything more, Mr. Stricken, the heartless yet sometimes benevolent manager of the Green Igloo, emerged from his office and frowned when he noticed his three employees seated in a crooked circle. "Excuse me, ladies, am I mistaken or are the customers outside, waiting to be served?" He said, approaching them, his question not the sort that needed to be answered. "I suggest you get up and do what you're being paid to do, before it's not a problem anymore." 

Stricken disappeared in the actual restaurant, leaving Clear, Bree and Rachel to gaze after him, wordlessly for a brief moment. Rachel got to her feet and clapped her hands, urging the other two girls to stand as well. "You heard him, girls, arses and elbows, let's move it." She commanded, retying her apron around her waste and heading out of the kitchen that same way her boss had. 

Wordlessly, Clear and Bree followed and entered the restaurant, which was beginning to brim with customers. As Clear surveyed the tables and their occupants, she stopped dead in her tracks, causing her blonde coworker to bump into her. "What's wrong?" Bree questioned as she stepped aside to study the brunette. 

With a sigh, Clear turned to face the blonde. "Over at table three is that guy that I told you about, my boyfriend's best friend." She explained, and both girls shifted to look at the table that she had indicated. Indeed, Alex was sitting in the booth by the window, across from Adrienne, who didn't look too happy to be there at all. 

Bree pursed her lips. "Do you he came here just to bother you, or something?" She questioned, seeming honestly concerned or perhaps upset on Clear's behalf about the whole ordeal. 

After thinking for a quick second, Clear shook her head. "I don't think so, that's his girlfriend with him. He told me a few days ago that this was his favorite restaurant." She answered, believing that she was speaking the truth. But it seemed, however, to be too much of a coincidence after their conversation that morning. 

As they continued to study Alex and Adrienne, Rachel headed over to them, not looking very pleased. "Hello, do either of you remember that we should be working so that we can get paid at the end of the week? Don't just said there like idiots." Clear couldn't help but notice that this last comment seemed directed directly to her. "Clear, go waitress table three, Bree, you got five." Rachel commanded, shooing them in their respective directions. 

Clear realized none too late that she was being directed toward Alex's table and with a sigh also realized that there was nothing she could about that fact. Once again adoring her fake waitress smile, she approached their table and pulled out her tiny notepad. "Welcome to the Green Igloo, can I get you guys something to drink?" She felt foolish for speaking that way to two people that she knew, or at least one person that she knew, but she was attempting to convey to Alex that this certainly shouldn't be a social call. 

Alex, however, obviously didn't get the message as he smiled at her. "I had to come see for myself the new working Clear. Waitressing suits you." He complimented quite shameless, causing Adrienne to clear her throat. 

"I would like an ice water, with the lemon on the side." She ordered, looking pointedly at the brunette and looking none too pleased as she spoke. It was obvious that she was beginning to pick up on the same signals that Tod had noticed long before and it wasn't making her very happy. Adrienne Grant, after all, wasn't the sort of girl that got cheated on. 

Clear nodded as politely as she could muster and then turned to face Alex. "I'll have a Coke." He told her, seeming almost apologetic as he answered. Without another word or giving anyone else a chance to say anything more, the waitress turned and headed back toward the kitchen, where Bree was waiting with a sympathetic look upon her face. 

"I saw who you're waiting on, Clear, want to switch tables?" She offered, heading over to the drink dispenser to fill her order. Clear followed after her, shaking her head, though touched by her offer. 

"No, I can handle them for thirty minutes." She mumbled, filling a glass full of Coke and setting it aside. "After all, Alex can't do anything with his girlfriend sitting right there, though I'm not quite sure he really cares who's around anymore. I just wish he was so interested in me when I actually didn't have a boyfriend." She filled a second cup with water and deliberately dropped a lemon inside of the glass. 

When she returned with the drinks, Clear pointedly ignored Adrienne when she began to raise a fuss about the lemon. When she realized that she didn't have an audience, the blonde dropped her compliant and gave Clear her order. "I want a salad, with no tomatoes and extra ranch dressing, spread evenly across the vegetables." She instructed, sounding as though she was trying to give the most difficult order possible. And, as an added blow, Adrienne fished the lemon out of her drink and tossed it onto the floor right at Clear's feet, looking as though she hadn't even moved. 

Clear forced herself to not even give the cheerleader a cross look as she focused on Alex, who hadn't noticed his girlfriend's action. Alex's order was much simpler and soon she had retreated back to the kitchen once more, looking for Bree to vent to but finding only Rachel in the kitchen, eating fries out of a plastic basket seated on a tray. The brunette studied the blonde and frowned, heading over toward her. "Did you assign me to table three on purpose?" She questioned, her anger at Adrienne suddenly shifting targets. "You know that was the boy giving me all the trouble I've been telling you and Bree about." 

Rachel popped a fry in her mouth and rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic, it's not that big of a deal. You act like you're victim, even though the whole situation is your fault too." She continued before Clear could raise her voice in her defense. "Besides, I couldn't help it if the guy asked for you by name." 

Clear sighed as she got Rachel's answer, which was the one she had sort of been expecting all along. Alex had made sure that she would his waitress, which was either flattering or slightly stalkerish, depending on how she decided to look at it; she figured, however, that he was going to try to talk to her about the whole triangle as soon as he had the chance. Maybe he wanted to tell her that he didn't want to hurt Tod anymore, after seeing how upset he was during French. 

As she waited for Alex and Adrienne's orders to be filled, Clear refrained from venturing back to their table, feeling like a coward for hiding out in the kitchen. The whole matter was going to have to be addressed at some point, though every time she tried, it always seemed to backfire in her face. To avoid further problem, Clear picked the tomatoes out of Adrienne's salad herself (feeling a slight victory in that) and slathered the whole thing with ranch dressing, so that it was almost impossible to see any vegetables. She didn't think that was what Adrienne meant about everything being evenly covered, but it was the best she was going to get. 

Clear picked up both plates and headed back out of the kitchen, toward table three. As she approached the table, she stepped on something slippery and lost her balance, struggling to remain upright and keep a grip on both of the plates. As she stumbled, she lost hold of Adrienne's salad and the plate landed right in the blonde's lap. At any other time, Clear realized that the situation might have seemed somewhat comical; now, however, was not one of those times. 

Letting out a ear piercing shriek, Adrienne bolted up and began shouting insults at Clear, who stood, somewhat stunned at the way things had begun to play out. Alex instantly started attempting to calm his girlfriend, who would have none of it. "Do you have any idea how much this shirt cost?!" She continued to shriek, spinning off on another tangent. "There is no way all this dressing will come out. I am going to sue this goddamn restaurant." 

To make matters worse, Adrienne shouted her last threat just as Stricken happened to reenter the restaurant, just in time to hear her words. "What is going on here?" He asked, trying not to look as worried as he felt. The Green Igloo certainly didn't have the money to stand up to be being sued. "I'm sure we can figure something out." 

Adrienne seemed more then happy to tell the manager just what had transpired, no longer concerned about her tee-shirt now that she had realized that she had the opportunity to get Clear into trouble. She knew there was something going on between that girl and her boyfriend and she wasn't the type of girl to stoop low enough to public cat fighting or trashing someone's lawn. She was the sort of girl that kidnapped someone's dog or had somebody else total their car. "I'll tell you just what happened." Adrienne began, pointing at Clear, who looked as though she couldn't have defended herself if her life depended on it at that moment. "She dropped this salad right in my lap and ruined my favorite top. I have half a mind to sue this shitty restaurant and it's clumsy staff and I could because my father is a lawyer. Perhaps you've heard of him, Jason Grant." 

At her words, Stricken let his nervousness show; he had, indeed, heard of this boisterous girl's lawyer father and knew that he was one of the top attorneys in the state. "Now, that's not necessary, Miss Grant." He assured her, glaring at Clear as well, who suddenly felt her eyes fill with tears. "I'll be more then happy to pay the cost of the dry-cleaning bill, or perhaps purchase another shirt." He looked very relieved when Adrienne nodded slowly. "As for you, Clear," he turned to face the brunette, who knew just what was coming. "You are fired, effective immediately. Return your apron and please leave." He didn't speak with the kindness that his words entailed. 

Clear bit the inside of her bottom lip to keep from crying in front of Adrienne and pulled her apron over her head. When she looked back at Adrienne, the girl was giving her a smug smile that made her want to scream; instead, however, she tossed her apron on the table and bolted from the restaurant. 

Alex watched her go and stood as well, turning to look at Adrienne. "I can't believe you." He muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. 

"What? I'm the one with salad in my lap." Adrienne snapped back, her theories confirmed by Alex's actions. 

"You know why she slipped, because you put that goddamn lemon on the floor." Alex accused, not really caring that the entire restaurant was still watching the events unfolding. "You are such a selfish bitch, Adrienne and I'm sorry I didn't realize it before." With that, he left the restaurant, heading after Clear. 

Adrienne frowned, narrowing her eyes at him. "Go," she shouted, though he was already gone, trying to save her image in front of people she didn't even know. "As for us, we are so over!" She huffed, snatching the napkin away from Stricken when he offered it to her. 

Alex found Clear sitting on the curb a few feet away from the restaurant, her face buried in her hands, shoulders shaking with sobs. "Clear, are you all right?" It was a stupid question, yet Alex couldn't think of anything else to say. Clear didn't answer but continued to cry, not even looking up. 

He sat down beside her and put his arm around her shoulder, startling her and causing Clear to look up at him. "I'm sorry you got fired because of Adrienne, she's just a bitch." Alex said, giving her a half-hearted smile. 

Clear pulled away from him. "Alex, please don't do this. I appreciate your sympathy but..." She trailed off, knowing full well that he knew just what she was trying to say. _But I feel bad enough about Tod already. _

Alex sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Ignoring her protests, he turned to face her suddenly and kissed her lightly, much to her surprise. She tried to object but found herself unable to do so, realizing that she had wanted him to kiss her since the second she had met him. Clear returned the kiss somewhat cautiously before finally pulling away. 

Alex sighed, shoulders slumping as he thought about what he had done; he had betrayed his best friend and that hurt more then he would have expected. Clear sighed as well and gazed past Alex, seeing something that made her heart skip a beat. 

There was Tod, standing by the entrance of the Green Igloo with a pitifully tiny bouquet in his hand and a shocked look upon his face. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The song is "Love Me, Just Leave Me Alone" by Jewel 


	11. Throwing Rocks

__

I've spent so much time throwing rocks at your window

That I never even knocked on your front door. 

Chapter Eleven 

Throwing Rocks 

Clear quickly jumped to her feet, certain that her face was a mixture of disbelief and guilt as she studied Tod. Alex turned to see what had upset the brunette and was shocked to see his best friend standing five feet away from him; it was obvious by the look on his face that he had seen everything that had just happened. 

"Tod-" Clear began but Tod cut her off by stepping closer to her and trusting the bouquet into her hands. 

"Here, I was coming to apologize for the way I acted earlier." He explained, and without another word headed back down the sidewalk the way he had come seconds earlier. 

With a shout of anguish, Clear tossed the bouquet onto the sidewalk and rushed after Tod, leaving Alex still sitting on the curb, feeling somewhat confused about what had just taken place. 

It wasn't difficult for Clear to catch up with Tod, since he was trudging along so slowly, eyes rimmed with tears that he refused to let fall. "Tod, I am so sorry, please let me explain." She begged as she grabbed his arm and forced him to stop. 

"What is there to explain?" He questioned, voice nearly devoid of emotion. "You kissed my best friend, pretty self explanatory." He jerked away from her and continued down the sidewalk. For the second time in so many minutes, Clear began to sob once again, feeling more desolate now then she had earlier. 

* * * 

All evening, Clear had been calling Tod, knowing that he was home and simply avoiding her despite what his brother said every time she called. She finally gave up, knowing that no matter how many times she called, Tod would never agree to talk to her. Not that he should, after what she had done; he had every right to ignore her, but that didn't make it any easier for her to accept. Clear wanted badly to speak with him, to apologize and try to explain, try to make sense of everything that had happened that afternoon. She had gotten fired and dumped, though only one of those problems weighed heavily in her mind. 

Finally, able to take lying her bed any longer, she pulled on her tennis shoes and slipped out of her bedroom, creeping past her grandparents' room, not too worried about being caught since they were sound asleep by eight-thirty every night. Clear had only been to Tod's house once and she hoped that she could remember how to get there, especially at night when she couldn't really see three feet in front of her face. 

She took a short cut through Alex's neighborhood, just as she had done the night her dog had run away, hoping that her memory of Tod and Alex living near to each other was correct. Clear couldn't help but notice that the light was on in Alex's bedroom, but she didn't allow her thoughts to go past that; she was through thinking about Alex, since that had gotten her into this mess in the first place. 

After traipsing through underbrush and people's yards for nearly twenty minutes, she finally found Tod's neighborhood, which made finding her ex-boyfriend's house much easier. Once Clear was standing in the Wagner's front lawn, she wasn't quite sure what to do next; it was too late to simply knock on the door, yet she had made up her mind to talk to Tod and didn't want to wait until morning when she could chicken out. 

As Clear stared up at Tod's dark room through his curtain-less window, she wondered just how she could get his attention. She tried whispering his name but couldn't raise her voice high enough, and not wake up the whole house, to get his attention. Just as she was about to give up, she realized that Mrs. Wagner's wilting garden had tiny pieces of gravel sprinkled around the plants to give it a little bit of decoration; the rocks were the right size to throw at Tod's window to get his attention and not break any glass. 

Though she had never been a good aim, or throw for that matter, Clear gathered up a handful of gravel and began to toss the rocks one by one against the window pane, missing most of the time and hitting the side of the house. She hoped that she had hit the actual window enough to get Tod's attention, but the situation wasn't looking too promising, since there appeared to be no movement coming from the bedroom and the light had yet to be switched on. 

The front door of the house opened which quickly got her attention and Clear whirled around to face the entrance, hoping that it wasn't one of Tod's parents awoken by the noise. She was surprised to see Tod standing in the doorway, staring at her with a very interested, yet confused, look upon his face. "Clear?" He question, stepping onto the front stoop to get a better look at her. "What are you doing here?" 

Discarding the rest of the gravel in her hands, Clear headed toward the front door, relieved that Tod hadn't slammed the door as soon as he had seen who it was. "I really need to talk to you and you haven't been answering the phone and-" She explained before he cut her off. 

"Of course I haven't been answering the phone, I'm pissed at you Clear. That's what people do when they're pissed, they don't answer the phone." Tod pointed out, no longer looking confused or interested but upset, which Clear didn't take as a good sign. "Now, if you'll please get out of my front yard, I have to get back to watching _Jay Leno._" He instructed, heading back into the house and preparing to shut the door. 

"No, wait Tod." Clear called out, heading after him. "Please, just wait. I really need to talk to you, I need to explain-" Stopped by her words, Tod turned around to face her, anger now apparent upon his features. 

"Explain what Clear?" He snapped, slamming the door behind him and stepping back out upon the stoop to face her. "Explain how you were never interested in me in the first place, how you were always in love with Alex? Explain how every time you kiss me you close your eyes 'cause you're really thinking about him?" His voice was rising louder as he spoke, causing Clear to involuntarily step backward. 

She shook her head, chewing on her bottom lip for a second before saying, "No. That's not it, you're wrong." She sounded pathetic, even to herself, defending herself when what he was saying was true. Whenever she did kiss him she imagined herself kissing Alex, though she hated herself for doing so. 

Tod scoffed, rolling his eyes as he studied her. "I'm wrong?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Well, one thing I'm _not _wrong about is that you kissed Alex and you can't deny that." When Clear didn't even make a sound in her defense, he looked slightly disappointed, as though he had hoped that she _would _be able to deny it. "I've played games with you ever since we started going out, Clear. Guess what? Game over." He told her, opening the door once more and slamming it before she could say anything. 

For a moment, Clear stared at the shut door in disbelief, her grief and desolation suddenly returning in full force. "Wait Tod! Please!" She shouted, banging on the door with the palm of her hand. "Please, give me another chance." She pleaded shamelessly, ceasing her banging when she knew Tod wasn't going to open the door again. 

Eyes welling with tears, she stepped away from the door and stepped onto the grass, staring up at the house, pleading silently for Tod to give her another chance, though she knew that she didn't deserve one. 

After what seemed like forever, Clear finally turned away from the Wagner home and headed back down the street, hating herself even more for what she had done. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, I hope everyone's liking the little Final Destination melodrama. It's almost over, however, as sad as that is, but I have more FD stories planned plus the ever popular Musical. As for Curtis, who wants to see Billy, I'll make sure to put him in the story. Thanks for all the reviews. The song is "These Days" by Evanescence. 


	12. NotSoExpert Advice

__

One of us is lonely, one of us is only waiting for a call

Sorry for herself, feeling stupid, feeling small, 

Wishing you had never left at all. 

Chapter Twelve

Not-So-Expert Advice

Clear almost considered not going to school the next day, just avoiding Tod, Alex and Adrienne and trying to convince herself that things would just take care of themselves without her interference. What she really was dreading was walking into French class and trying not to feel like the Whore of Babylon in front of Adrienne and all of her friends, who had surely heard all about what had happened yesterday at the Green Igloo, as well as Alex and Tod. However, she also knew that if she didn't show her face in school then Adrienne would add another layer to her story. 

All she got, however, for her deciding to go to school that day was ending up late because had spent the better part of the morning deciding whether or not her grandparents would believe her if she said that she was too sick to go to school. Clear realized that being late was for the best anyway, since she didn't need to run the risk of running into Adrienne and her posse or getting cornered by Alex to talk about just what had happened yesterday. 

The first three periods of the day passed too quickly as far as Clear was concerned and by the time French rolled around she had convinced herself that it would be best to drop the class right that second and take Spanish. Or even German would be easier then facing her selective classmates that afternoon. However, by that time the front office was closed and she had no chance but to trudge to the foreign language hallway and enter room 213 as though it was any other day. 

Clear pretended to ignore Adrienne's death stare as she entered the room and headed toward her desk, which suddenly felt as though it was in the middle of a war zone. The tension between Alex and Tod was almost too much to bare and as soon as she entered, it got enough worse, though she did her best to act as though she didn't even notice. Clear didn't greet either one of boys as she sat down, pretending to dig through her backpack from something very important. Neither Tod or Alex said a word either, staring straight ahead and paying more attention to their teacher then they had since the first day of class. 

As soon as the bell rang, Clear jumped out of her seat and was one of the first students from the classroom, wishing to get as far away from the room as she could before Adrienne could think of something smart to say about what had happened the previous day. She was somewhat relieved to have gone through the whole day without talking to either Tod or Alex, though she wasn't quite sure that it was a completely good thing; it also meant that Tod hadn't forgiven her and probably never would. 

Clear pushed through the throng of students that crowded the hallway and finally made her way to the parking lot, which was even more crowded with the mixture of buses and seniors with their own transportation. It was days like these that made her happy that she could simply walk home, so that she didn't have to do with the confusion of getting a ride and she could be home quicker then if she rode a bus. Besides, walking gave her a chance to focus her thoughts and figure out what she was going to do about Tod. If he didn't come around, she figured that she'd just have to let go and move on, as difficult as that whole idea sounded to her. 

The sound of someone calling her name caused Clear to turn around, abandoning her thoughts for the time being. Instead of seeing Alex, or Tod like she had inwardly hoped, she saw Billy Hitchcock, the semi-dork from her French class, riding toward her on his bicycle with his hat on backward and a smile upon his face. "I thought that was you, Clear." He said as he stopped beside her, the tires on his bike squealing at the quick halt. 

"Hi Billy." Clear mumbled, not really in the mood to be chatty with anyone, especially someone she barely knew. 

Billy, however, didn't seem to pick up on her unwillingness to talk and began to walk along side of her, rolling is bike along. "You look depressed about something, troubles at home?" He questioned innocently, as though they had known each other for years. When Clear gave him a strange look, he explained, "Sorry, my mom's a therapist." 

Clear decided not to say anything, about anything, as she continued to walk along the sidewalk, wondering if Billy would get bored of talking to her and move on to someone who would actually be willing to talk. Billy, however, didn't seem at all bothered by her silence but instead seemed to actually have more to say despite it. "Anyways, you have the relationship trouble look." He told her quite matter-of-factly, nodding his head. "I know that feeling well, Cynthia Pastor doesn't know how to let a guy down easy." 

At first, Clear wanted to laugh but realized that he was being completely serious and laughing would probably do nothing but further ruin his Cynthia Pastor damaged ego. Instead, she just looked over at him and smiled slightly, touched somewhat by his honest boyishness. "Thanks for the diagnosis, Billy, but-" She was cut off by the sudden sound of someone blaring on a car horn, which caused both her and Billy to jump. 

Billy and Clear turned to see who had honked and saw a rickety blue Mustang drive by with Rory Peters, the only stoner on the football team, at the wheel and Carter Horton in the passenger seat, leaning over to bang on the horn once more. Billy frowned as he watched the car pass, feeling foolish for allowing himself to be frightened by Carter Horton. "Carter you dick!" He shouted after the car, even though it was now too far away for his shout to do much good. 

Clear rolled her eyes once more, turning to face Billy once more. "As I was saying, thanks for the concern but I'd really rather be alone right now, if you don't mind." She said, hoping that he wouldn't take it offensively.

Billy smiled and nodded, climbing back onto his bike. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow Clear." He said, and with that, pedaled down the street leaving Clear alone once again. 

* * *

Alex saw Tod heading down the sidewalk, making sure to keep up a quick pace so that he made sure to stay away from anyone who wanted to talk to him, which would be the person he had at one pointed considered his best friend. _This has got to stop, Tod can't stay mad forever, _he thought, though he wasn't quite sure that was true and so he quickened his own pace so that he would be sure to catch up with his friend. 

"Tod, I've got to talk to you." Alex called out when he got near enough, but his friend didn't even bother to turn around. "Tod." He was now walking along side Tod, who had no choice but to look over at him. 

"What?" Tod asked harshly, making it obvious that he held Alex just as responsible for what happed yesterday as he did Clear. "Don't tell me you have something to explain too. I understand what happened, no need to explain." Even though casting aside his best friend and girlfriend was killing him, he realized that there was a point in life where one needed to draw the line. He know considered that line drawn. 

Alex looked taken back by his words for a brief moment before he said, "Just listen anyway. What happened yesterday never should have happened, I don't know how things got so messed up. I didn't mean to hurt you and Clear didn't either, but it wasn't her fault; if you have to be mad at someone, which I understand if you do, then be mad at me. I kissed her, Clear didn't have anything to do with happened." He paused, unsure of what to say next. He hadn't expected to get so far in the first place, and now he didn't quite know where to go. "I think you should think about forgiving her." Alex said after a moment's thought, even though he really wanted Tod to forgive him. 

Tod studied him for a moment before nodding slowly, indecisively. "I'll think about it." He muttered, turning away from his friend and heading back down the sidewalk. Alex watched him go, knowing that if Tod wasn't in the mood to hear anything else he had to say, then it would no good trying to persuade him to listen. 

* * * 

Clear was sitting in the living room, trying to concentrate on her algebra homework when the doorbell rang, which was a surprise; her grandparents didn't really have anyone that would come around to visit and she didn't have any friends herself. Unless it was Tod...

When Clear answered the door, however, she found that it wasn't Tod at all but Bree Scott and Rachel Campbell from the Green Igloo. She didn't know what to say when she saw her ex-coworkers standing at the door, so Bree decided to do all of the talking. "Hey, Clear, I know you weren't expecting us but Rachel and I thought we'd come by and see how you were doing." She explained. 

Rachel frowned slightly. "Actually, I didn't really _want _to come but Bree thought it would be a good idea. She said that it was a good idea for me to stay in touch with people outside my anger management class." She grinned as she spoke, which caused Clear to laugh as well in spite of herself. She stepped aside to let her friends inside, motioning for them to sit on the couch. 

"We got your address from your employee file that Stricken hasn't thrown away yet." Bree explained as she sat down where Clear had been seated only moments before. "We also wanted to come by and give you the money you earned from working at the Green Igloo for two days. It's only twenty dollars, but we managed to talk the boss into giving it to you." She fished through her jeans pocket and pulled out a folded check, handing it the brunette. 

Clear smiled, pleased that they had come by, even Rachel, who seemed to be much more friendly now that they weren't working together. "Thanks for stopping by you guys." She said genuinely, glad that they were providing her with a distraction so that she didn't wallow in her problems. 

Bree smiled and opened her mouth to say something but Rachel spoke before she had a chance to. "We wanted to know what happened between you and that guy after he ran out of the restaurant after you yesterday." She explained with shameless interest, causing Clear to cringe inwardly. 

"Well, we talked...then he kissed me." Clear answered with a slight frown, pursing her lips. "It would have been great, if my real boyfriend, who now my ex boyfriend, hadn't picked that exact moment to arrive at the restaurant to apologize for acting so strangely earlier that day." 

"So he caught you." Rachel mused, nodding her head slightly. "In my opinion, you're better off without either one of them. The guy from yesterday had a strange face...eyes too far apart." 

Clear stared at her, trying to figure out if Rachel was being serious and giving her a strange form of shock therapy. She tried to think of something to say, either defensive or in agreement but couldn't come up with a word. 

"I agree with Rachel." Bree said at her silence. "I don't think you would have been happy with either of them. If you were going out with Tod then you would have wanted to be with whats-his-name. And if you were going out with the other guy, you'd feel guilty around Tod. Plus, the guys wouldn't be friends anymore and what would happen when you broke up? See, you couldn't have been happy." She nodded to accent her point, as though she was agreeing with her own words. 

Clear leaned back against the couch as she thought about the girl's words, realizing that she was speaking the truth. If Tod did forgive her and they got back together, who's to say that Alex still wouldn't be interested in her and she certainly would still be interested in him. In the process of dating Tod and pining over Alex, she had broken up their childhood friendship. "You're right, Bree." She agreed quietly, sighing and realizing that her problems weren't even close to being over. 

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The song is "One of Us" by ABBA. I hope Curtis is pleased by the Billy appearance. Sadly, the next chapter is the last chapter of this story (aside from the epilogue), but it's been fun. So, sit back, review and wait for the conclusion to "Stuck". 


	13. Letting Go

So, here is the last chapter of "Stuck" and the end of my humorous, romantic type FD stories. Thanks for reviewing, keep 'em coming. They'll be a longer note in the epilogue; please review and enjoy this last chapter. 

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One of these days, I won't be afraid of staying with you

I hope and pray, waiting to find a way back to you. 'Cause that's where I'm home

Chapter Thirteen 

Letting Go 

After Bree had given her advice, the conversation began to taper off and it was beginning to become obvious that the three girls were running out of things to say. Rachel, as usual, was the first one to actually speak up. "Well, it's been great chatting with ya Clear, but Bree and I've got to get down to the Green Igloo...so that we don't get fired too." She said, standing up and motioning for her co-worker to do the same. Clear nodded, understanding where her ex-coworker was coming from and didn't take her comment too offensively. 

After saying their goodbyes, Bree and Rachel rose to let themselves out. As they opened the door, Bree turned back around and motioned for Clear, who was moving back to where her homework was still spread out. "Clear, someone's here to see you." The waitress explained, causing the brunette to glance over at her with a raised eyebrow expression. 

"What?" Clear questioned, wondering who could possibly be at her door but getting to her feet anyway and joining the other two girls at the door. She was nearly shocked to see Tod standing on the front stoop, looking surprised to see that Clear hadn't answered the door herself. "Tod. What are you doing here?" She questioned, hoping that she didn't sound completely ungrateful to see him standing there. 

Tod managed to muster up a slight smile as he said, "I was hoping we could talk." He hoped that she wouldn't be the one to slam the door in his face, especially after the way he had acted the night before. 

Bree smiled at Clear before slipping out the door past Tod with Rachel in tow, leaving the broken couple alone to talk; the brunette stepped away from the door and motioned for Tod to step inside. As soon as Clear shut the door, he turned to face her, knowing he had to speak before he chickened out of speech he had intended to give her. "Clear, I'm sorry for the way I acted last night, I was a complete jackass and-" 

"No, I completely deserved it, after what I did." Clear interrupted, knowing that it was finally time to start speaking the truth. "I kissed Alex, and I'm sorry, but I'll completely understand if you never want to speak to me again." 

Tod shook his head, frowning slightly. "Alex told me about what happened yesterday, about how he kissed you and you were just reacting. And...I want to give you another chance...I mean I want to get back together." He said quickly, fumbling over the words he had practiced many times on the way over to her house. 

Clear sighed, dropping onto the couch, surprised at what she was hearing; Tod forgiving her had been what she had always wanted, but now she realized that what Bree had said was true. It would be almost impossible to be truly happy with Tod, as long as Alex was still around. "Tod..." She trailed off, not sure just how to explain what she needed to say. 

"Clear, don't say anything yet...let me try to explain. You were my first girlfriend and being with you was something that I know I'm not ready to end yet. Even after everything, I still want to be with you, I still love being with you." Tod said, kneeling down in front of her and taking her hand. 

Though she wanted nothing more then to agree with everything Tod had just said, Clear pulled her hand away and stood up, pacing around the living room before turning to face him once again. "You have no idea how badly I've wanted to hear you say that in the past twenty-four hours, Tod, but it's not right, it'll never work out. Not with Alex being your best friend and I don't want to ruin the friendship you guys have." She explained, forcing herself to continue. "And you'll never be able to fully trust me again after what happened. It'll never work." 

Tod looked as though he couldn't quite believe what she was saying. "No...Clear, it'll work. It'll work if we give it another chance." He said pleadingly, wishing that things weren't speeding toward the inevitable. Their relationship was over, though he wasn't ready to admit it, wasn't ready to let go. 

Clear shook her head, her eyes beginning to well with tears. "We can't, there are no second chances." She whispered, wishing that she weren't saying the words that she was saying. "I'm sorry." And she truly was. She hadn't ever expected her first relationship would ever end up like this, she had expected it to be more of a _She's All That_ type of thing. 

At a long pause, Tod finally managed to bring himself to speak. "You're sure...there's no chance..." He knew there wasn't, he had known since yesterday that there was no reviving what they had lost long ago. 

"No." Clear muttered, looking away from him as she spoke. "I don't think so." She wiped the tears from her eyes before she turned to face him again, forcing herself to muster up a smile. "We'll always have French class." She pointed out, not quite sure of why she was trying to make light of the situation when it made her want to die inside, as she followed him to the front door. 

Tod nodded, unable to smile however. "Right." He agreed, opening the door and stepping out, letting it shut behind him. Somehow, he didn't think that was enough. 

* * * 

After leaving Clear's house, Tod didn't quite know where to go; he wasn't in the mood to go home and have George possibly tease him or his mother want to have a good old mother-son chat with him. So, he headed toward the only other place he really knew without walking all over town: Alex Browning's house. 

He wasn't sure just how receptive his friend would be, but he decided it would be worth a shot to go see him; he wanted to let Alex know how things had gone with Clear, possibly rekindle the friendship that had had only days before. _How did things get so messed up? _Tod questioned himself as he walked. _I thought things were going all right...between all of us. _

When he arrived at the Browning house, Alex opened the door when he knocked, looking surprised to see his friend standing there. "Tod, what are you doing here?" He questioned, motioning for his friend to enter regardless. 

"I just wanted to let you know that I went to talk to Clear and we broke up." Tod said as soon as he was inside the house, knowing it would do no good to beat around the bush. "She said that she didn't want to ruin our friendship and she's right. What happened between us Alex? We used to do everything together, I mean we used to eat sand together in kindergarten and try to stand up to Carter Horton. Now you kissed my girlfriend and I would have said that I hated you two hours ago." The whole thing was simply too confusing for Tod to handle and he wanted to set things right. If he couldn't patch things up with Clear then he was sure as hell going to do it with his best friend. 

Alex sighed and shrugged his shoulders, trying to figure out just where things had gone wrong. It scared him somewhat that he couldn't figure out just what had happened between them. "I don't know man." He muttered. "I'm sorry I kissed Clear, I really am, and I don't want to lose our sand-eating friendship." He smiled slightly at the memory, feeling slightly relieved when Tod smiled as well. 

"Friends?" Tod questioned, sticking out his hand for Alex to shake in agreement, which he did eagerly, agreeing with his friend's words. Tod felt slightly better as he accepted his friend's invite to stay and watch the football game, even though things hadn't worked out with Clear. 

* * * 

Clear could no longer concentrate on her algebra homework and knew that it would surely never get done now. She could only think about her conversation with Tod and wonder if she had done the right thing, said the right things, made the right decision. _Yes_, she finally agreed mentally. _Everything worked out for the "best", there's no other way things could have worked out. _

Clear knew that was true, but it didn't make letting go any easier. 

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Alas, all good things must come to an end. Of course, there is an epilogue but as we know it "Stuck" is officially ended. Much sadness, but regardless, please read the epilogue! Review, thanks! The song is "One of These Days" by Michelle Branch 


	14. Epilogue

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Though I'd die to know you love me, I'm all alone 

Epilogue

It was nearly eight thirty by the time the door bell rang for the second time that day, surprising Clear once again, who was washing dishes with her grandmother and blocking out everything the old woman was saying about bingo night. "I'll get it." The brunette declared quickly, eager to get out of the kitchen, setting down the soapy dish and not even bothering to dry her hands as she rushed from the room. 

Alex was standing at the door, with a dog's leash in one hand and a German Shepard puppy in the other. Clear didn't know what to say as soon as she opened the door, surprised to see Alex and the puppy that he held in his arms. "Alex, what are you doing here?" She questioned, not bothering to hide her surprise, looking from the boy to the dog. 

"Hey Clear." He greeted with a slight smile. "I was walking Cherokee and I found your dog, poking around in my neighbor's bushes." He explained, holding the dog out to Clear, who took it quickly, relieved to see that her dog was all right. 

After setting Prince down to reek havoc in the living room, the brunette turned back to face Alex, a broad smile upon her face. "Thank you so much for bringing him back." She said, genuinely pleased by his actions. Even after everything, it seemed that he still cared about her somewhat, which may or may not be a good thing in the long run. 

"No problem." Alex told her, shifting his weight and jerking on the Cherokee the golden retriever's leash to keep him from digging through the ratty garden along the side of the house. "Look, Tod told me about what happened between you two, earlier...about how you guys broke up." He said, looking away from the retriever to meet her gaze. 

Clear shrugged, hoping that their conversation wasn't going where she thought it was. "It was for the best." She explained, knowing that it really was. She just hoped Alex and Tod understood that was well. 

Alex smiled wanly, shrugging as well. "I'm really sorry that I messed everything up, Clear, I really am." He said sincerely, realizing that he really had messed up their relationship. 

Clear didn't know what to say in response to his words so she simply stood silent for a moment until she said, "Why did you kiss me yesterday, Alex?" She wasn't quite sure what answer she was hoping for, what she wanted to hear him say. A part of her wanted him to say that he had kissed her because he liked her, just as she liked him yet she knew hearing those words wouldn't make anything easier. 

"I guess I realized too late that I really liked you Clear." Alex admitted after a pause, locking eyes with her as he spoke. "I just wish I had realized it sooner." 

The brunette sighed, wishing he had as well; things could have been much different if Adrienne and Tod had never been involved. Instead of telling Alex this, instead of deciding to risk starting something that was better left unbegun, Clear bid Alex goodnight and shut the door. 

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So, another story has come to a close, I hope that everyone liked it and it lived up to "Why Can't I?" and proved that all sequels didn't have to suck. Thanks for all the reviews, especially to Curtis and Dharke, the real Bree and Rachel. 

As you can tell from watching the _Final Destination _movie who everyone ended up in those few years, with Clear becoming the loner and Alex and Tod still best friends. I figured that this would be a good place to end the story, since we all know what happens. 

Thanks again for reviewing, look for the return of the _Final Destination _musical! I listed all the songs featured in this story down below once again, just in case anyone felt inspired to "download the soundtrack", as Curtis said for one of her stories. Thanks again! 

2) _Stuck _by Stacie Orrico

3)_ Desperately _by Michelle Branch 

4) _ Why Can't I? _Liz Phair 

5) _When You Say You Love Me _Clay Aiken 

6) _Good Enough _Sarah McLachlan 

7) _If It Ain't Broke (Break It) _Mike Vogel 

8) _Shine _Mike Vogel 

9) _White Flag _Dido 

10) _Love Me (Just Leave Me Alone) _Jewel 

11) _These Days _Evanescence 

12) _One of Us _ABBA 

13) _One of These Days _Michelle Branch 

epilogue) _Missing _Evanescence 

I wanted to put in some Eminem for Dharke, yet I couldn't find any songs of his that fit; I also wanted to put in "Good Enough for a Woman" for Curtis, but couldn't find the lyrics. Sorry you guys! 


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